Ergonomic fully adjustable work station

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an ergonomic and fully-adjustable user work station system and method of use. In one embodiment, the system provides a work station apparatus for a user comprising: a base; a stool comprising a seat, the stool interconnected with the base and extending in a vertical direction; a first mast extending in a vertical direction and interconnected with the base; and a work surface element interconnected with a proximal portion of the first mast; wherein the work surface element may be reached by the user when the user is seated on the stool. In one embodiment, the work station apparatus further comprises an adjustable anterior chest support and head support.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/311,089, filed Mar. 21, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to a user work station system and method of use and in particular, to an ergonomic and fully-adjustable user work station.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In various industrial applications, workers are required to remain in one location, either sitting or standing, and work on a continuing stream of required tasks. This might occur on a factory assembly line, in a food-processing industry or even a clerical function, such as a mail room or the like.

For many years a worker in such a position would have been expected to stand, but sitting in a fixed position has become common. The seats provided to such workers, however, are typically no more than institutional office seating, and often do not provide adequate support or comfort to a worker. Neither a standing nor a sitting position may be sustained for long periods of time unless the worker is provided with adequate trunk support to relieve postural muscle fatigue and strain, which may be adjusted for the comfort of the user.

Historically the trunk support in a chair or stool has been posterior, and facilitates spine flexion, especially if the hip angle is 90 degrees or less. Prolonged sitting in spine flexion imposes excessive stress on the posterior lumbar spinal structures: ligaments, facets and discs. Prolonged spine flexion also promotes forward head posture, which has been associated with increased neck pain. The ability to increase the hip angle and provide minimal anterior trunk and neck support is unique. Stationery stands are currently available but do not provide adequate trunk support, do not permit relocation of the device to another position to accommodate postural fatigue and individual anatomical differences.

The invention of this disclosure addresses these problems and solves these needs. A user work station a/k/a work stand is disclosed which provides for the comfort, stability and support of a user during the completion of required tasks. The work station adjusts to accommodate differing working positions and postural adaptations and, in one embodiment, may be conveniently relocated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one aspect of the present invention to provide an ergonomic and fully-adjustable user work station system and method of use.

In one embodiment, the system provides a work station apparatus for a user comprising: a base; a stool comprising a seat, the stool interconnected with the base and extending in a vertical direction; a first mast extending in a vertical direction and interconnected with the base; and a work surface element interconnected with a proximal portion of the first mast; wherein the work surface element may be reached by the user when the user is seated on the stool. In one embodiment, the work station apparatus further comprises an adjustable anterior chest support and head support.

The present disclosure can provide a number of advantages depending on the particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration.

The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material.”

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any storage and/or transmission medium that participate in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a computer-readable medium is commonly tangible, non-transitory, and non-transient and can take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media and includes without limitation random access memory (“RAM”), read only memory (“ROM”), and the like. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk (including without limitation a Bernoulli cartridge, ZIP drive, and JAZ drive), a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape or cassettes, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a digital video disk (such as CD-ROM), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. Computer-readable storage medium commonly excludes transient storage media, particularly electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, magneto-optical signals.

The terms “determine”, “calculate” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

The term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.

The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.

The term “screen,” “touch screen,” or “touchscreen” refers to a physical structure that includes one or more hardware components that provide the device with the ability to render a user interface and/or receive user input. A screen can encompass any combination of gesture capture region, a touch sensitive display, and/or a configurable area. The device can have one or more physical screens embedded in the hardware. However a screen may also include an external peripheral device that may be attached and detached from the device. In embodiments, multiple external devices may be attached to the device. Thus, in embodiments, the screen can enable the user to interact with the device by touching areas on the screen and provides information to a user through a display. The touch screen may sense user contact in a number of different ways, such as by a change in an electrical parameter (e.g., resistance or capacitance), acoustic wave variations, infrared radiation proximity detection, light variation detection, and the like. In a resistive touch screen, for example, normally separated conductive and resistive metallic layers in the screen pass an electrical current. When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact in the contacted location, whereby a change in electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the contacted location calculated. In a capacitive touch screen, a capacitive layer stores electrical charge, which is discharged to the user upon contact with the touch screen, causing a decrease in the charge of the capacitive layer. The decrease is measured, and the contacted location coordinates determined. In a surface acoustic wave touch screen, an acoustic wave is transmitted through the screen, and the acoustic wave is disturbed by user contact. A receiving transducer detects the user contact instance and determines the contacted location coordinates.

The term display” refers to a portion of one or more screens used to display the output of a computer to a user. A display may be a single-screen display or a multi-screen display, referred to as a composite display. A composite display can encompass the touch sensitive display of one or more screens. A single physical screen can include multiple displays that are managed as separate logical displays. Thus, different content can be displayed on the separate displays although part of the same physical screen.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed.

The Detailed Description of the Invention, the drawing figures, and the exemplary claim set forth herein, taken in conjunction with this Summary of the Invention, define the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principals of this invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a left rear perspective view of the work station according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1a depicts a series of four detailed perspective views of the adjustable seat and base portions of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1b depicts a left rear detailed perspective view of the adjustable seat and base portions of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1c depicts a left side elevation view of the adjustable upper body and forehead support members of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 depicts a left side elevation view of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1 as engaged with a standing user;

FIG. 3 depicts a left side elevation view of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1 as engaged with a standing user, the work station in an alternate configuration to that of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 depicts a left side elevation view of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1 as engaged with a sitting user;

FIG. 5 depicts a left side elevation view of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1 as engaged with a sitting user, the work station in an alternate configuration to that of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 depicts a left side elevation view of the work station embodiment of FIG. 1 in a folded configuration comprising castors.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale (unless so identified). In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

To assist in the understanding of the present invention the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided herein:

Reference Number Component 1 Work stand base 2 Work surface mast 3 Work surface 4 Chest support mast 5 Headrest and light 6 Modular stool 7 Inflatable seat 8 Arm rests 9 Position adjustment control panel 10 Work surface insert 11 Foot rests 12 Modular stool vertical positioner 13 Modular stool horizontal positioner 14 Transport handle 15 Transport wheels 16 Chest support pad 20 Work stand/station 21 Planar underside 22 Tractive footpad 23 External work surface telescopic column 24 Inner work surface telescopic column 25 Vertical seat sleeve 26 Support attachment slot 27 Chest support radial adjustment 28 Headrest and light radial adjustment 29 Headrest and light telescopic column

It should be understood that the drawing are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-6 depict the work station 20. The work station generally comprises work stand base 1, work surface mast 2, chest support mast 4, headrest and light 5, arm rests 8 and modular stool 6.

In one embodiment, an ergonomic, fully adjustable work station 20 is described in which a base provides: a) an adjustable semi-standing or sitting chair with inflatable seat to allow pelvic motion; b) optional adjustable chest and head supports and c) an adjustable desk surface with arm support to hold a keyboard or laptop computer device; and d) rungs at various levels for optional foot support. The design allows: (a) the body to be positioned from seated to semi-standing to standing in various hip angles to promote neutral spine and reduce disc and spine compression forces typically found with conventional sitting; (b) postural muscles of the back and neck to relax with anterior chest and head support; and (c) the pelvis to move and continually redistribute forces on the spine with the inflated bladder seat.

The base member 1 may have any number of suitable geometries so long as the primary function of the work stand, dissipating the forces placed on the user, is met. In the illustrated embodiment, the work stand base 1 is comprised of a planar underside 21. This planar underside 21 spreads in a horizontal plane and is designed to support a user employing the work stand 20 and dissipate the forces placed on the work stand 20 by a user.

The work station 20 may further comprise a work surface mast 2. Work surface mast 2 is a central support fixedly attached to work stand base 1 at a single rotational connection and has an external telescopic column 23 and work surface telescopic column 24 of which work surface 3 is fixedly attached. Work surface mast 2 also defines a cavity to surround and support the single rotational connection and interfacing walls between work stand base 1 and work surface mast 2.

In addition, the work stand 20 comprise a tractive footpad 22 which is preferably fixedly attached to some or all of the entire top surface of the base member 1 as shown. “Tractive” here means a surface that provides traction or frictional resistance, thereby providing an anti-skid or anti-slip surface.

In one embodiment, the work station 20 comprises additional horizontal foot rests 11 affixed to the sides of the work surface mast 2, an alternative to resting feet or standing on the tractive footpad 22 surfaces.

One skilled in the art would recognize that various other geometries could be employed to provide a suitable work station base 1. Further, work stand base 1 may be provided by a member securely affixed to the work surface, as known to the prior art, although some objects of the present invention would not be obtained thereby.

The work surface mast 2, as depicted in for example FIG. 1, is a dual-column telescopic assembly comprised of external telescopic column 23 and work surface telescopic column 24, although additional telescopic columns or a singular column may also be provided.

The work surface mast 2 further includes a provision for the attachment of chest support 4, illustrated as being mounted into a telescopic channel within the user-side of external telescopic column 23.

Modular stool 6 as in FIG. 1a is shown in both its raised and lowered positions and as described in the present discussion of the primary embodiment as further comprised of several components. Vertical seat sleeve 25 surrounds and telescopically slides around vertical seat sleeve 26 and may be vertically adjusted and locked into a preferred position along the vertical length by engaging or disengaging modular stool vertical positioner 12.

The modular stool sleeve 26 is permanently capped at its end with a key shaped feature that slides and fixedly engages with the modular stool horizontal positioner 13 as illustrated in FIG. 1a . This modular stool horizontal positioner 13 is comprised of an engagement slot and spring loaded locking device with lever to insure rigid engagement modular stool sleeve 26 of modular stool 6. Multiple modular stool horizontal positioners 13 may be fixedly attached to the top surface to permit modular stool 6 to be located nearer or further from the work surface mast 2, according to the comfort of a user. Optionally, a singular modular stool positioner 13 may be mounted into a horizontal slot located on the top and along the center of the work stand base 1 to allow modular stool 6 near or far positions to be adjusted with a sliding action and without removal of modular stool 6.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 1 c, the work surface mast 2 is further provided with a chest support mast 4 and headrest and light 5. The chest support mast 4 is further comprised of chest support pad 16 including chest support radial adjustment 27, provided with an elongated vertical chest support attachment slot 26 through the sides thereof allowing attachment to the external work surface telescopic column 23. Assembly in this manner allows the height of the chest support mast 4 to be adjusted. The angle, or radial position of the chest support pad 16 may be adjusted by chest support radial adjustment 27 via the radial holes positioning holes and locking pin. In this manner, the position and adjustment of the chest support pad 16, may be set as desired. The headrest and light 5 is further comprised of headrest and light telescopic column 29 and headrest and light radial adjustment 28. Similar to chest support pad 16, headrest and light 5 may be adjusted both in its height and fore-aft position as desired.

In one embodiment, the anterior chest support system (comprising chest support pad 16 and chest support mast 4) is further adjustable in addition to height and radial position i.e. chest support radial adjustment 27. For example, the chest support system is adjustable in flexibility or stiffness, such that the support (e.g. the mast 4) may “give” or flex to varying degrees based on user preference and/or user profile. Also, the chest support 16 may adjust in any of three (3) rotational directions, i.e. in pitch, roll and yaw, either to a fixed angle or an angle that adjusts/adapts once engaged with the chest of a user. The chest support 16 may be detachable and/or modular such that a user may use any one of several chest supports (e.g. one wider and narrower, another with a thicker support pad). The chest support system may further comprise a sensor that measures force or pressure applied, so as to provide a signal to a controller that may adjust the chest support system or provide a warning. For example, if a user is applying too much pressure or force to chest support pad 16, the chest support system may issue, via controller, an alarm such as a visual or audio alert.

Similarly, the head support system (comprising headrest 5 and headrest column 29 as adjusted by headrest radial adjustment 28) is further adjustable in addition to height and radial position. For example, the headrest support system is adjustable in flexibility or stiffness, such that the support (e.g. the column 29) may “give” or flex to varying degrees based on user preference and/or user profile. Also, the headrest 5 may adjust in any of three (3) rotational directions, i.e. in pitch, roll and yaw, either to a fixed angle or an angle that adjusts/adapts once engaged with the head of a user. The headrest 5 may be detachable and/or modular such that a user may use any one of several head supports (e.g. one wider and narrower, another with a thicker support pad). The head support system may further comprise a sensor that measures force or pressure applied, so as to provide a signal to a controller that may adjust the head support system or provide a warning. For example, if a user is applying too much pressure or force to headrest 5, the head support system may issue, via controller, an alarm such as a visual or audio alert.

In one embodiment, the work stand comprises: a base member providing support and stability for a user and dissipating the forces placed on said work stand by a user; at least one vertical support member capable of securely attaching to said base member and transferring the forces placed on said work stand by a user; an upper body support member adjustably attached to said at least one vertical support member and comprising a padded support provided with means to adjust said padded support in vertical height, horizontal placement and radial tilt for the comfort and convenience of a user, said upper body support member being capable of receiving the forces placed on said work stand by a user and transferring said forces through said at least one vertical support member to said base member; and a seat member capable of supporting at least a portion of the weight of a user, said seat member being adjustably mounted along the height of said at least one vertical support member to provide for height adjustment to said seating member, and reversible in orientation.

In one embodiment, two vertical support members securely attach to the base member(s) and transfer the forces placed on the work stand by a user.

In one embodiment, an upper body support member adjustably attached to said at least one vertical support member and comprising a padded support provided with means to adjust said padded support in vertical height, and radial tilt with respect to said support member for the comfort and convenience of a user, said upper body support member receiving the forces placed on said work stand by a user and transferring said forces through said at least one vertical support member to said base member.

In one embodiment, said upper body support member further comprising means to position said upper body support to accommodate the chest of a user working in a forward position.

In one embodiment, a seat member means supporting at least a portion of the weight of a user, said seat member means adjustably mounted along the height of said at least one vertical support member to provide for height adjustment to said seating member means, said seat member means further comprising means to position said seat member means to accommodate a sitting user working in a forward direction, said seat member means further comprising of an inflatable bladder to allow the user to move the pelvis freely for comfort, a head support member that attaches to said upper body support that supports the forehead of the user and allows for removability if so desired, a desk surface that accommodates forearm support attaches to said upper body support that slows forearm support for task requiring hand use which is adjustable and removeable.

In one embodiment, the base member is not intended for attachment to the floor of the work space and the work stand may be freely moved and positioned within a work space. In one embodiment, the base member has a sufficient horizontal dimension to provide support and stability and dissipate the forces placed on the work stand by a user. In one embodiment, the horizontal dimension is provided by horizontal load-bearing members attached to said base member.

In one embodiment, the load-bearing members are removably attached for storage or shipment of the work stand. In one embodiment, the base member further includes dowels for the placement of the feet of a user. In one embodiment, the at least one vertical support member comprises a vertical column to which the upper body support member may be attached. In one embodiment, the tubular column is further provided with a extended, slit-like opening therethrough. In one embodiment, the upper body support member is further provided with bolting means employed to attach said upper body support member to said tubular column by the selective positioning of said bolting means through said slit-like opening.

In one embodiment, the bolting means is further provided with radial locking means to permit the radial positioning of said upper body support member. In one embodiment, the seat member means further includes means to position said seat member means to provide support for the legs of a standing user.

The structural materials employed advantageously in the present invention are fashioned from machined plastics, extruded or cast aluminum, although several suitable alternatives are available, as one skilled in the art would recognize readily. Likewise, the padding, where padding is desirable, is preferably some kind of foamed elastomer, and foam rubber has been used to advantage, though other suitable materials exist. Other hardware, brackets, locking pins and supports may be fashioned from aluminum or other suitable material.

In one embodiment, one or more components are automatically controlled by computer hardware and/or computer software by way of a controller element. For example, in one embodiment, the positioning and/or orientation of one or more components (e.g. the work surface 10) are automatically positioned to a set orientation based on a user profile input by a user. That is, a user may enter a desired work station configuration (perhaps a set height of the modular stool, a set orientation or tilt of the work station mast, and a set orientation of the work surface), and the controller adjusts the work station to the desired configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the controller may access a database of user profiles, and/or set generic user profiles, and adjust the work station to satisfy those profiles. In one embodiment, the user inputs desired work station configuration or settings by way of a display, screen or graphical user interface.

In one embodiment, the adjustment of one or more elements are facilitated or enabled by electromechanical or other motion-augmented means known to those skilled in the art. For example, the adjustment of the modular stool may be adjusted in height through an electromechanical actuator. In one embodiment, the electromechanical or other motion-augmented means are interconnected and/or in communication with a controller that controls the positioning or movement of the work station element of interest.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be constructed of materials known to provide, or predictably manufactured to provide the various aspects of the present disclosure. These materials may include, for example, stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, chromium alloy, and other metals or metal alloys. These materials may also include, for example, carbon fiber, ABS plastic, polyurethane, and other fiber-encased resinous materials, synthetic materials, polymers, and natural materials. The system and its elements could be flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid and made of materials such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, chromium alloy, and other metals or metal alloys, carbon fiber, ABS plastic, polyurethane, and other fiber-encased resinous materials, synthetic materials, polymers, and natural materials.

In one embodiment, some or all components are manufactured by way of 3-D printing.

Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family of processors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™ family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel® Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nm Ivy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300, and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments® Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments® OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors, ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalent processors, and may perform computational functions using any known or future-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture.

The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been described in relation to growing of plants and associated operations. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structures and devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scopes of the claims. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It should however be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations illustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated, certain components of the system may be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of the system may be combined in to one or more devices, or collocated on a particular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the components of the system may be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system. For example, the various components may be located in a switch such as a PBX and media server, gateway, in one or more communications devices, at one or more users' premises, or some combination thereof. Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could be distributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associated computing device.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connecting the elements may be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable of supplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links may also be secure links and may be capable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, may be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications.

Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence may occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure may be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosure without providing others.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosure may be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein may be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that may be used for the disclosed embodiments, configurations and aspects includes computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing may also be constructed to implement the methods described herein.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in conjunction with software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that may be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particular function, and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that may be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosure may be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as an applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system may also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations with reference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments, sub-combinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A work station apparatus for a user comprising: a base; a first mast interconnected with the base and extending in a substantially vertical direction; a seat interconnected with a proximal portion of the first mast; a second mast interconnected with the base and extending in a substantially vertical direction; a work surface interconnected with a proximal portion of the second mast; and wherein the work surface may be reached by the user when the user is seated on the seat.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a vertical angle of the first mast is adjustable.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a vertical angle of the second mast is adjustable.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an anterior chest support interconnected with the second mast.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an anterior chest support interconnected with the work surface.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a head support interconnected with the work surface.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the head support includes a light.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a pitch angle of the work surface is adjustable.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a horizontal distance between the first mast and second mast is adjustable.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a foot rest interconnected with the second mast.
 11. A work station apparatus comprising: a base; a first mast interconnected with the base; a seat interconnected with a proximal portion of the first mast; a second mast interconnected with the base; a work surface interconnected with a proximal portion of the second mast; and a head support interconnected with the work surface.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an anterior chest support interconnected with the second mast.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an anterior chest support interconnected with the work surface.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the angle of the first mast relative to the base is adjustable.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the angle of the second mast relative to the base is adjustable.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the head support includes a light.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a pitch angle of the work surface is adjustable.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a horizontal distance between the first mast and second mast is adjustable.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a foot rest interconnected with the second mast.
 20. A work station apparatus comprising: a base having an integrated foot rest; a first mast slidably interconnected with the base; a seat interconnected with a proximal portion of the first mast; a second mast rotatably interconnected with the base; a work surface rotatably interconnected with a proximal portion of the second mast; an anterior chest support slidably interconnected with the second mast; and a head support rotatably interconnected with the work surface. 